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Future War.

(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Corporal Rhita Daniel)

Infantrymen from the 4th Marines’ 3rd Battalion assessed emerging technologies and engineering innovations recently during an Urban Advanced Naval Technology Exercise at Camp Pendleton, California. The March 21, 2018 exercise saw leathernecks checking the operational utility of an unmanned light cargo vehicle, an electric tactical vehicle, protective helmets and defensive weapons like the Big Gun shown here. The name on the side of the weapon says it all. The “Drone Killer” is aimed at countering the threat from small unmanned aerial systems (drones).

Marine Corps planners expect battle-spaces in the future will include narrow streets lined by high rise buildings in densely populated megacities in Africa and Asia.

Click here to see more photos of the technology examined at the urban warfare technology exercise.

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Wearin’ of the Green.

(U.S. Navy photo by Seaman Michael Hogan)

O.K., we’re a little bit late to mark St. Patrick’s Day, but we thought we’d share this image in homage to the tradition of wearing green on March 17.

However, these aircraft carrier sailors wear green every day at work. The color signifies they are carrier air wing maintenance personnel and here they are replacing the windshield of an MH-60S Seahawk helicopter on the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN- 71). The photo was taken in the Persian Gulf a few days before Paddy’s Day (March 14, 2018).

Carrier Deck Dance.

For the curious or uninitiated, each crewman has a different task on a carrier flight deck, depending on the color of their jacket. Click here to see what the different color jackets mean. As for the precision dance team pose, there are all sorts of signals between deck crewmen and pilots on the incredibly noisy carrier deck. Click here to see an amazing video.

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Christmas Watch.

(U.S. Navy photo by Seaman Erika Kugler)

A lone sailor walks across the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), after being relieved from watch duty. The ship is in port in Bremerton, Washington — where this photo was taken on December 25, 2017 — where the Stennis was preparing for its next deployment.

Water Wall.

You can’t see them, but planes from from Carrier Air Wing 11 just dropped live ordnance (bombs) on the ocean surface, creating an exploding “water wall” in a flight demonstration. The aqua-technics were part of Tiger Cruise 2017 on December 1.

The photo below gives a closer view of the titanic splashes of water. To us they look like frolicking fuzzy critters. (the fifth from the right definitely reminds us of a giant porcupine.) What do they look like to you?